Apple event predictions: what was announced and how did we do?
The new Apple iPad
• A surprise to many was the name 'The New iPad'. Apple have decided to bring their naming in-line with their existing desktop and peripheral convention, dropping the number scheme common across their mobile devices.
• Our prediction on a lower price point iPad 2 was correct, starting at £329. This leaves a teaser of just £70 between the old and new models. Apple opted not to roll out a smaller form factor iPad device to compete with the lower end of the tablet/reader market, however the rumour mill is now anticipating a potential launch in late summer.
• LTE support is available as predicted. We won't see the benefits in the UK until 4G licenses have been allocated and infrastructure has been put in place, but this tells of Apple's focus on high quality content everywhere for their users.
• As widely predicted, the A5X system on a chip forms the heart of the new iPad. With the focus mainly on graphics power, a quad-core version of the PowerVR graphics core used in the iPhone 4S has been included to deal with the new retina display.
• The 'resolutionary' display on the new iPad didn't let us down. Apple have pulled out all the stops to give consumers a better than HD experience that they can carry around with them. Combined with the awesome new graphics capabilities, Apple have ensured themselves as clear market leaders, and renewed the inspiration of the development and content creation community to step up to the post-PC era.
• Although the new iPad doesn't feature full Siri integration, our prediction was partially correct. The voice dictation functionality brought across from the 4S uses the core of Siri's voice recognition technology, and provides the potential for a software update in the future to full Siri functionality.
The updated Apple TV
• It was clear from Apple's announcement that they are not ready to give away much on their much rumoured research in the TV arena.
• The core update to a 1080p capable A5 processor does however allow for a refreshed UI experience.
• Keeping the £99 price point alive, they have ensured that there is just enough to keep users interested whilst they move towards a much anticipated ground-breaking release.
• Moving the focus of their entire product line and content source through iTunes towards 1080p and strengthening the ecosystem. This is a teaser that something much bigger is just around the corner.